Minister Falconer Returns to Alma Mater for Motivational Session

Minister with Responsibility for Information, Senator the Hon. Sandrea Falconer, returned to her alma mater of Hampton School on November 21, to speak to the all-girls student body about the value of hard work in achieving lasting success.

“I don’t want you to be gullible, or to think that success is something that you can wish. Success takes hard work. Success takes sacrifice, and the success that lasts with you for a lifetime is the kind of success that will make you into a leader,” she stated.

The Minister noted that in addition to having skill and talent, confidence and spirituality are key traits in the journey towards success.

“Every single mountain that you come upon, you can scale that mountain with ease, if you have the courage, if you are bold, and if you have God in your life. It is always very important to be grounded spiritually, if you do not have that to fall back on when the moments are difficult, it’s harder for you to maneuver.

“You cannot do all that without skills and talent. Pick the career that you want, refine your skills; make sure that you practice it every single day. Success is something that you work at,” the Minister said.

Senator Falconer, who enjoyed a stint in the field of journalism and was part of the executive management team at the former Air Jamaica, also talked to the students of the St. Elizabeth-based institution about the importance of setting standards.

“You have to have your own standards. You have to know that there are certain things you don’t participate in. You have to know that when others see you they respect you for what you have up here (brain), they respect you for the work that you do,” she stated.

“When you are moving ahead, nobody will be whispering to say how you got where you got…these are the facts of life, these are the things that dog women as they go into the professional world, and you have to understand those things,” she noted.

The Minister also implored the students to always show respect. “Whether you are at home dealing with your parents, or you are at school dealing with your teachers, or your peers, respect is important.

“Whether you are a doctor or an attorney-at-law running your own business, you want the staff that you interact with to be very respectful of you, and for you to be respectful of them. When you have discord at the workplace, or discord in the home, you don’t achieve much, so, I ask that whatever you do, ensure that respect is an important part,” she encouraged.

The Minister’s address to the students was organised by the St. Elizabeth Homecoming Foundation, as part of its Student Empowerment programme from November 11 to 29.

A number of outstanding persons from St. Elizabeth have been selected to spend a day at about 70 schools in the parish to share their personal experiences with the students, with the aim of motivating them.